Red(75)

But here she was, alone, filled with a strange numb emptiness.

Without speaking to anyone, she made her way into the wings and down the stairs to the empty dressing room. She changed into her old jeans, then methodically packed up her pageant supplies and took one last look around. She would probably never see this room again.

Felicity didn’t want to face the crowded lobby, so she slipped out the back door of City Hall and skirted the far side of the building until she reached the parking lot. After stuffing her garment bags into the trunk of her car, she collapsed into the driver’s seat and rested her forehead against the steering wheel.

She had absolutely no idea what to do next.

After several long minutes, Felicity’s phone beeped, and she dug it out of bag. She had one new text message.

GABBY: well played, st. john. I underestimated you.





19


     SATURDAY, MAY 29–MONDAY, MAY 31


Felicity spent Saturday night and most of Sunday hiding in Ivy’s bedroom, watching horrible reality TV and trying not to think.

Ivy provided a steady supply of Twizzlers, popcorn, and smoothies and didn’t ask any touchy-feely questions. But when the sun started setting on Sunday and Felicity still hadn’t moved from her nest of blankets, Ivy switched off the television and stood menacingly in front of the screen. Felicity reached for the remote, but Ivy snatched it away.

“You have got to snap out of it,” she announced. “If everyone doesn’t stop making such a big deal about your hair, I will seriously cut it all off myself. You’ve been sulking over here for an entire day because you’re freaking out about everyone else freaking out. It’s hair, Felicity! It’s a bunch of stringy keratin! What is everyone’s problem?”

“They should be apologizing to me! I shouldn’t have to run after them.”

Ivy sighed and flopped down next to her on the bed. “I know. The whole thing just drives me insane. I mean, who cares if you have the MC1R gene or not? Everyone loved you on Saturday morning, and aside from the fact that you’re a little less clean now, you haven’t changed at all. God, everywhere but here, people dye their hair right out in the open, and nobody cares. I cannot wait to get out of this place.”

Felicity had never heard a genuine redhead rail against Scarletville before, and the wheels in her brain slowly started spinning again. “What do you mean? Where do you want to go?”

“Stanford. Everyone has weird hair in California. Maybe I’ll go platinum.”

“Was that Haylie you were yelling at on the phone earlier?” Felicity asked. “What has she been saying about me? Is she coming around at all?”

“She keeps being like, ‘Felicity lied to us, how can we ever trust her again?’ It’s absolutely ridiculous. Maybe when we see her at school tomorrow—”

Felicity’s mouth dropped open. “I’m not going to school tomorrow!”

“Yes, you are. You have to. You made this big, bold public statement, which was totally awesome and badass, by the way, and you made everyone think you were proud of who you were—which you should be. But if you hide now, everyone’s going to know you’re actually ashamed, and that’s when they’ll try to take you down. They sniff out fear like dogs. If you don’t hold your head up, this is not going to go away.”

Felicity looked at her friend. “You’re kind of wise, you know?”

“That’s me. Tiny and wise. Just like a Magic Eight Ball.”

Felicity’s phone rang, and she lunged for it. Her heart started beating wildly when she saw her mom’s name on the screen. “Hello?”

“Felicity.” There was hurt and sadness in her mom’s voice, but all the fury was gone. “Are you at Ivy’s house?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m still not happy about what you did yesterday.”

“I know,” Felicity said.

There was a long moment of silence, and then her mom said, “I’d still like you to come home, please. Your brothers would like to see you.” She paused. “I would, too.”

It wasn’t an apology, but even the tiniest start was better than nothing.

So Felicity went.

Monday morning was like The Dream come to life.

When Felicity walked through the doors of Scarletville High, everyone stared at her, even the littlest freshmen. Nobody spoke to her directly, but everyone started whispering. There were giggles. There were gasps. There was no eye contact.

The difference was that in The Dream, Felicity always woke up when she screamed. This time, there was no escape.

When she reached her locker, she saw that the good luck, felicity! wrapping paper was hanging off in uneven shreds. She tore the rest down and stuffed it into the trash can, along with the chocolates and the wilted flowers she had left in her locker on Friday. She kept the plush penguin for the twins.

Ivy finally showed up as she was picking off the last of the tape. She reached for Felicity’s mocha and took a sip. “How’d things go with your mom last night?”

“Okay, I guess. Dinner was pretty awkward. We didn’t really talk at all. But I guess it’ll take time. Have you spoken to Haylie?”

“No progress yet, but I’ll get through to her eventually. There’s no way that girl can beat me in a fight.”